The calendar says it’s the first day of fall but here in California we still say it’s beach weather! No one likes saying good-bye to summer but…. as we start to feel that welcome chill in the evening air don’t forget to check out all the fun stuff we have planned for fall!!

The 205th Annual Wedding Reception!

The Oktoberfest tradition started in 1810 to celebrate the October 12th marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to the Saxon-Hildburghausen Princess Therese. The citizens of Munich were invited to join in the festivities which were held over five days on the fields in front of the city gates. The main event of the original Oktoberfest was a horse race.

Anniversary celebrations were held annually thereafter that eventually became larger and more elaborate. When the city began allowing beer on the fairgrounds, makeshift beer stands began cropping up, and their number increased steadily until they were eventually replaced by beer halls in 1896. The beer halls, like the beer tents of today, were sponsored by the local breweries.

The festival was eventually prolonged and moved ahead to September to allow for better weather conditions. Today, the last day of the festival is the first Sunday in October. In 2006, the Oktoberfest extended two extra days because the first Tuesday, October 3, was a national holiday. Over the past 200 years, Oktoberfest was canceled 24 times due to cholera epidemics and war.

Everyone’s favorite week of fall! We can’t wait for you to try this year’s menu! Starting October 14th-28th we will be offering a 3 course $35 prix fixe menu starting @ 5pm daily. Check our Facebook this week for the full menu!

Annual Lighted Boat Parade

Kick off the Christmas season with good food & friends at the Harbor Boat Parade on Saturday December 5th! Upstairs from 5:30-8:30pm we will be serving a special prix fixe menu. Downstairs check out our “Sweet Shack” for hot drinks & housemade treats! Mark your calendar we will begin accepting reservations for this event on November 1st!

]]>http://www.johnnysharborside.com/news/see-whats-happening-this-fall/feed/0Join us for Mother’s Day Brunchhttp://www.johnnysharborside.com/news/join-us-for-mothers-day-brunch/
http://www.johnnysharborside.com/news/join-us-for-mothers-day-brunch/#respondWed, 06 May 2015 07:16:47 +0000http://www.johnnysharborside.com/?p=668

Greetings!

Don’t let Mom down and make a reservation now to insure her day is perfect! We will be serving brunch 10am-2pm with champagne specials to ensure Mom is happy! Call us today for reservations space is filling up quickly! 831.479.3430

After the Easter Egg Hunt join us for a delicious brunch from 10am-2pm even the Easter Bunny couldn’t resist. Call us today for reservations space is filling up quickly! 831.479.3430

]]>http://www.johnnysharborside.com/news/join-us-for-easter-brunch/feed/0Valentine’s Day Menu, 2016http://www.johnnysharborside.com/news/valentines-day-menu-2016/
http://www.johnnysharborside.com/news/valentines-day-menu-2016/#respondMon, 09 Feb 2015 03:00:23 +0000http://www.johnnysharborside.com/?p=631Check out our special Valentine’s Day features and reserve a table for you and sweetheart today!

With the holidays behind us and a long California winter ahead of us we look forward to a new year. With a new year comes change and resolutions. For our part we resolve to continue serving amazing fresh, local food in new and exciting ways with one of the best views in town. As a restaurant we are always changing with the seasons and now our newsletter will do the same. This newsletter begins the start of our new seasonal newsletters and offers. So, all though you will not see a newsletter in your inbox every month we will be sending you more frequent exclusive offers and happenings.

We’ve Got Something New On Wednesday Nights!

Burger Wednesday!

Every Wednesday night in February stop in and enjoy a new gourmet burger & cocktail!

School FUNdraiser Night!

Join Johnny’s to help raise funds to send an 8th grader to Washington DC. Wednesday January 28th we will be hosting local 8th grader Melodie Luv Apollo and many of her fellow classmates from San Lorenzo Valley Middle School for a night of food, fun and to give a little back to our local schools. Johnny’s will donate 15% of your check for the evening when you pick up a flyer on your way into dinner.

In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future husband.

Our chef has been dreaming up unusually delicious food for you and your sweetheart to enjoy on Valentine’s Day. We will be offering a four course prix fixe menu for $55. Make your reservations early as we fill up quickly!

Featured Cocktail

The Moscow Mule had been invented circa 1941, although it is often said that owners of the Los Angeles British pub Cock ‘n’ Bull, created the drink, such might not actually be the case. According to a 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal penned by the reliable Eric Felton, the Cock ‘n’ Bull’s head bartender Wes Price also laid claim to the recipe. And we’re inclined to believe a bartender over a marketer…Moscow Mule
1 part vodka
2 parts ginger beer
Lime wedge for garnish
Fill a glass with ice, crushed or cubed.
Fill the glass 1/3 full with vodka.
Top with ginger beer and squeeze in some lime.

Greetings! It was great to see so many friendly faces at the Boat Parade this past Saturday as we kicked off the official holiday season with Santa sailing through the harbor and all the wonderful lights.

Come in and wind down from the shopping frenzy and share some holiday cheer during our awesome Happy Hour 3pm – 6pm Mon-Thurs, 3pm-5pm Fri.

And don’t forget to book your table for our New Years Eve Dinner celebration. It is sure to be another fabulous meal!

Gift Cards Made Easy

Make shopping easy this holiday season with a gift card from Johnny’s Harborside. And as a gift to you for every $50 purchased you will receive a $10 voucher valid Jan 1-31 2015.

New York New Years Eve!…

Now taking reservations for New Years Eve!

We are hard at work on another wonderful menu to help us ring in the New Year. We will be offering a 5 Course Prix Fixe Menu (includes a glass of champagne) for $59 starting at 5:00pm. Since we are not able to stay open until midnight we will celebrate a New York New Year’s. It is sure to be a festive evening and we hope to see you there!

We will be closing Christmas Eve at 2:00 PM and will be closed Christmas Day so that our staff may spend the holiday with their families.

We will be open New Years Day at 10:00 am and serving our wonderful brunch menu. So if you can’t make it in for dinner come join us the morning after.

Secret Santa

Secret Santa starts December 17th every time you dine with us Monday through Thursday through December 30th, you will receive a Secret Santa Envelope*. Inside each envelope will contain a special gift for you! (could be a free entree… 20% or 50% off… just to name a few!) .

Bring in your unopened envelope January 1st through February 1st, 2015 to redeem your gift during your visit.

It’s just our way of extending the holiday season!

*One Secret Envelope per guest check. Requires minimum purchase of $20. Upon return envelope must still be sealed to be valid.

Crab Season!

There is nothing that says a Santa Cruz Winter like a Dungeness Crab Feast caught by our local fishermen! If you haven’t had a chance to stop by you’re in for a delicious treat!

*Make sure to call ahead for availability

Fun Food Facts: Cranberries

There are 14 people in the U.S. listed on whitepages.com with the last name ‘Cranberry’.

Good, ripe cranberries will bounce. Bounceberry is another name for them.

Small pockets of air inside the berry cause the cranberry to bounce. Air also causes berries to float in water.

It takes about 200 cranberries to make one can of cranberry sauce.

The oldest cranberry bed in Wisconsin is 139 years old (2013).

In 1996, the worldwide cranberry harvest produced 40 cranberries for every person on the planet.

John Lennon confirmed in a 1980 interview that he repeated the words Cranberry sauce at the end of the song Strawberry Fields Forever.

Featured Recipe: Cranberry Shortbread Bars

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 10-ounce bag fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries

1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice

1 teaspoon grated grapefruit zest

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8x8x2-inch pan with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 opposite sides.

Transfer to prepared pan; press evenly onto bottom of pan (using the bottom of a flat measuring cup works well). Prick dough all over with a fork.

Bake shortbread until cooked through and pale golden, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely in pan.

Bring remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups cranberries, and grapefruit juice to a simmer in a small saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst and mixture is syrupy, about 8 minutes. Stir in remaining cranberries and cook until skins begin to split, about 3 minutes.

‘Tis the Season

We have been hard at work creating a special menu for the annual lighted boat parade!

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club’s 29th annual lighted boat parade at Santa Cruz Harbor will set sail on Saturday, December 6, 2014 at 5:30pm. Make sure to stop by our sweet shop (located downstairs in the breezeway) for hot holiday drinks and house-made treats! We look forward to seeing everyone out and about around the harbor.

Greetings! Loving the nip in the evening air with promise of cool weather and long fall nights by the fire to come! Fall is really broken into 2 parts the first part of Fall is September/October, it’s full of the last warm days at the beach, the first day of school, trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins and then once November hits it’s all about Thanksgiving, being thankful for our families, friends and everything we are so blessed to have in our lives. The Holiday season seems to officially kick off with the changing of the leaves, November is like the pre-season to Christmas!

Annual Lighted Boat Parade!

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club’s 29th annual lighted boat parade at Santa Cruz Harbor will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2014. Tables are already filling up fast for a delicious 4 course dinner and front row seats to kick off the holiday season!

Art for the Soul!

It was a night of art, music, food and beverages to benefit the American Cancer Society. It was also a night of honoring and remembering former Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee. Bob battled cancer for 10 years and touched those around him with his tenacity and grit. Barbara Lee (Bob’s wife) and Mark Lee (Bob’s brother) told heart felt stories of Bob’s life and world. Jeanne Fischer spoke about all the important things the American Cancer Society was doing worldwide to research and cure cancer. Randy Hunter who owns Fine Art 360 and his dedicated staff had the place looking like an art museum with gorgeous, unique pieces on display. There was a festive tent set up in the parking lot connected to the Fine Art 360 building. Harpin Jonny and the band played fun tunes. Fred Reiss entertained with his comedic wit. Patti Boe was her usually wonderful self. It was a fun night to remember Bob, and contribute to a worthy cause. Thank you to everyone who came out for a great night to honor Bob!

Crab Season

The boats are loaded and ready for a plentiful catch! We can’t wait to start enjoying our fresh local crab for the holiday season. Our chef is hard at work with exciting new ways to enjoy the bounty this season!

Fun Food Facts

Fact 1 The lifespan of crabs is in the range of 8 to 13 years.

Fact 2 Males have larger claws than female crabs.

Fact 3 The claw of crabs easily grows back if they lose one.

Fact 4 Crabs teeth are in their stomachs.

Fact 5 Crabs are decapods, which means they have ten limbs. The collective name for a group of crabs is a cast.

Preparation
Combine first 11 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet; place over low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gently fold in crab meat. Spoon into serving bowl. Serve with french bread

Don’t forget to make your holiday party reservations … we want to do everything we can to get our best customers their favorite table this season. As always thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Greetings! We may have been sweltering in 90 degree weather just a couple of days ago but October signals the beginning of the holiday season- the season of food!

Autumn has arrived, and we couldn’t be more excited. Our enthusiasm for the seasons often revolves around the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies. In the case of fall it’s apples . . . always apples. Apple pie, apple slaw, apple cider, and of course the apple shrub in this month’s featured recipe!! This stuff is magical. We can’t wait to use it in holiday cocktails!!

As part of the Santa Cruz Harbor’s 50th anniversary celebration, The Harbor is planning a fun-filled, spooktacular October!

The Port District will be hosting a Haunted Harbor Trick-or-Treat event for kids on Saturday, October 25, 2014, from 4 PM – 7 PM. Trick-or-treat stations will be set up in the southeast harbor and the water taxi will be in operation to shuttle people on an eerie ride down the channel. Make sure to stop in and see us for some special treats!

October 22-29

Every fall, Santa Cruz restaurants bustle with visitors new and old, each of them eager to savor an affordable delicious three-course meal.The annual Santa Cruz Restaurant Week (SCRW) returns this Oct. 22-29. We invite you to try our delicious three-course menu designed especially for
Restaurant Week.

Featured Recipe: Apple Shrub

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded apples (we used fuji)

1 cup sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Core and grate your apples.

Add the grated apples to a non-reactive mixing bowl, add the sugar and stir to combine.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and add the vinegar. Give the mixture a good stir so that all sugar is dissolved.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Firmly squeeze the shredded apple to extract every last bit of liquid.

Pour into a jar and seal. Try it in your favorite holiday cognac cocktail!

Fun Food Facts: Apples

More than 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States, but only the crabapple is native to North America.

Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.

Apples are a member of the rose family.

A peck of apples weighs 10.5 pounds. A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds.

It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.

So as we say good-bye to summer and all it’s bounty we welcome fall with open arms and ready bowls, be it steaming butternut squash soup or a warm apple cobbler we look forward to the cool crisp days ahead.

Greetings! Summer will fade soon–already the air feels more crisp and thoughts of autumn are edging into our heads. It was great to see all our out-of-town friends this summer a little more often. We are looking forward to our Fall Menu change this month as well as an exciting new 100% California wine list!

Fall Wine Fundraiser is almost here…

We are excited to announce that our fall wine fundraiser is just around the corner. This year we will be partnering with Wente Vineyards to raise funds for the Santa Cruz Chapter of the Spinal Cord Society. So stop in and enjoy some great wine for a great cause!

Gourmet Grazing on the Green

Join us in the Aptos Village Park for the annual Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group event. The day includes “grazing” on locally grown and organic edible delights prepared by the area’s finest chefs and served with a selection of local wines. There will be live music and artist booths as well. Advance tickets are on sale now. Buy Your Tickets Now!

Featured Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic & Honey

Servings: 6 | Total Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, halved, stems & outer leaves removed

3TBS extra virgin olive oil

3/4tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1TBS balsamic vinegar

1tsp honey

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large bowl, toss brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Transfer the brussels sprouts to baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally to ensure even browning, until tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes.Place brussels sprouts back in bowl. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, then serve.

New Fall Wine List

This fall we travel back to California and celebrate California Wine Month with a 100% California grown wine list beginning mid-month. We found some delicious wines from various regions of our Golden State from Napa to our own backyard. We hope you join us soon and enjoy a glass from the Vineyards of Pessagno in Carmel Valley or Wente in Livermore. Can’t decide on just one, we have also expanded our 1/2 bottle selections. Cheers!

There is much to look forward to this fall. We thank everyone for joining us this summer and look forward in seeing more of those familiar faces during the real “Santa Cruz Summer” months. Keep an eye out for all the exciting news to come.